What better way to kick off the weekend than with two very controversial ideas about how the revolution in Egypt should go.

First, a disorderly, violent overthrow may be for the best.

In the American Revolution, we lost 25,000 soldiers and had another 25,000 injured. This was probably one of the best investments of blood that the world has ever known. So, it’s hard to see why the world considers it absolutely imperative that no one be hurt in the Egyptian revolution. It’s “Live Free or Die,” not “Live Free or Sulk.”

More importantly though, violent revolutions may be stick better. When something costs us a lot, we value it more. If you revolution has a high price, it stands to reason that you will be less likely to let the freedoms you have won slip away. And isn’t that what the US and Israel are worried about? That a secular autocrat will be replaced with a radical Islamist autocrat.

“This isn’t what we fought and died for” is a lot more inspiring than “This isn’t what we petitioned for.”

Of course, maybe the victims the revolution has already seen will be enough. There’s not likely good studies on how many people have to die to make a revolution stick. My point is only that peace and order should not be the priorities in a revolution. Revolution should be the priority.

Second controversial claim, the Muslim Brotherhood should have a presence in the new government.

Right, I know, that’s what everyone is afraid of. But which scares you more, the thought of radical Islamists being marginalized by their society, brooding out of the public eye, and without a legitimate forum to express their views, or radical Islamists sitting in a committee meeting with representatives of other political groups discussing the price of wheat and transportation funds?

People are far more dangerous when they do not feel that their concerns are being listened to. This is what drives people to “want their day in court.” Even if you don’t get the result that you want, people derive a huge psychic value from knowing that others are at least listening. Much better to funnel radicals into legitimate government processes than to exclude them from it.

| | | | | |

This entry was posted on Friday, February 11th, 2011 at 7:18 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I totally agree with you regarding the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood. Having them come out and explain their platform in a parliamentary setting is much better than making statements one bus or cafe at a time. Although I’m not equating the two politically or ideologically, look at the Tea Party. They’ve “taken over” congress, or at least the House, now they have to govern, and they’re going to discover that “cutting spending” isn’t easy when most of their constituents live on social security, medicare, and farm subsidies. The rest work for military contractors. Similarly, should the Muslim Brotherhood be in the parliament, they’ll have to assert openly “yeah, women shouldn’t be taught how to read” or whatever their absurd platforms may be, and lo and behold they’ll fall out of favor like every other wingnut group. Then they’ll go the blowing up buses and cafes route.

Ellen, as a concerned member of the human race, I have a request for you. Would you consider getting your tubes tied? It would be a blessing for the rest of mankind as we would avoid having your defective, mendoza-line hovering genes further pollute the gene pool. “Piramyd’s”? Really? Not only are you dyslexic but you clearly don’t understand punctuation.

Evrenseven, I don’t know if I completely agree with where you and bl1y are headed on one point. You mentioned that if they’re in the public eye they might have to answer for their more outlandish claims; however, the problem is that their society is such that comments like “women shouldn’t be taught how to read” are not just accepted they’re effectively social mores (Ellen, this means that they’re widely held views in a society). I agree that there will be some idiosyncratic benefit to the Muslim Brotherhood from being represented but unfortunately I don’t believe that it will curb their ambitions.

Look at the way the United States treated women and blacks in the 18th and 19th centuries. Can’t vote, very limited property rights, limited access to courts, few education opportunities, few employment options. The people who promoted those views were running the show, and yet somehow democracy fixed all that.

I do NOT like the coments of Bl3y. He writes as if HE is smarter then me? Puhleeze, give me a brake. I am admitted to the NY bar, and am in good standing. I have alot of friends, also. FOOEY on Bl3Y. FOOEY!

Ah Ellen, you make it easier to insult you than it is to get away with brutally sexually assaulting a woman in an Arab nation.

First, there is little question that I’m smarter than you. In fact, the pen sitting on my desk is likely smarter than you.

Give you a brake? Are you in a car? Are you a mechanic? I think you meant “break” you twit.

As for you being admitted to the NY Bar, I’m also a member of the bar and at the end of the day, if you speak English (which you barely qualify as being able to do) and actually prepare odds are you will pass.

The fact that you have friends is irrelevant and has no bearings on your intelligence. Odds are, assuming you’re as attractive as you claim, the guys are friends with you because they can check you out while you babble incoherently and perhaps cop a feel while they wipe all your drool off your shirt.

Can we have a new post now on a relevant and timely topic, such as how McMansions, once priced at $1.5 million, will soon be available for the cost of legal education at Thomas Jefferson School of Law?

Bl3Y, you are a THIRD year student, and I am an associate at a New York law firm. You don’t even know ANYTHING about my law firm and all of the men that want to date me. Also, the manageing partner is always staring at me but I will not show my boobies to him or any other man even after they take me for drinks or dinner. Otherwise I would get a bad reputeation. As for you, I would NEVER sleep with you. Fooey on you!

Wow, Ellen. You really don’t even know how to read do you? The blog that you’re on is bl1y, which stands for big law first year. I’ll wait for you to think that one through. Hell, it can even be something like a logic game for you. If bl1y is an abbreviation for big law first year what is bl3y an abbreviation.

[cue the Jeopardy theme music]

Yeah, third year associate.

I really do pity your firm as if your blogging style is any indication of your professional work product they will have briefs reading, “May it pleeze THE coret my klient is INNOSENT because hez REALLY nice!”

Oh as for your comment about showing your chest, congratulations on being frigid. From your past comments I know you’re a gold digging waste of space so when you say bad reputation (sorry I can’t spell as poorly as you do, even in jest, for long because it offends my sensibilities) I know that it just means you’re concerned that you won’t be able to find the right guy to mooch off of indefinitely.

Ugh, it figures you are a 3RD Year associate at a firm. BUT Where? Montana? I am SURE it is NOT in New York obviousely. Men in NY City are NOT so crude. They do stare at me b/c they know I am VERY beautiful AND smart. Something you are NOT, and NO women will want to sleep with you, EVER. And b/c I have a good income, I do NOT need a loser to mooch of. Fooey on you and your 3RD Year associate. Fooey!

I concur with bl1y. I’m New York straight through and through. I work in New York, and I live here too.

It’s really hard to tell that a person is smart from looking at him or her. Yes there may be certain superficial indicia of intelligence (horn-rimmed glasses, perhaps a copy of war and peace tucked under one’s arm) but really, if you’re getting checked out it’s because someone either wants to do unnatural and possibly unlawful things to you or they’re trying to figure out how you can show your face in public. Based on your writing I skills I really hope that you’ve got some tig ol bitties or an otherwise great body because you’re mentally on par with my pet rock.

I am both smart and Pretty, but I would NOT expect you to see that. If you realy are a NY lawyer, then you are one of those Boobs that I would never be interested in.

I am very well read. I look at the NY Times almost EVERY day, not just the AM NY, which peeople like you probabley do. I also read things ON line, here is a good Bloomberg article, if you can understand it bl3y.

Wow. You read the NYT? AM NY is garbage. I prefer to go to the WSJ and Washington Times, personally.

Really, can I ask about the odd capitalization and spelling? I find it hard to believe that you’re well read if you can’t even write properly. Do you think of it as a way to make your inane banter more interesting?

As for your link, that really doesn’t prove much. It’s not really news. Rich guy who got busted feels no remorse and is a callous douchebag. More of a fluff piece really. Am I missing one of your more nuanced points?

I don’t want you to be interested in me. I already have one pet to clean up after and lord knows I’d have to follow you around to clean the drool off your chin and clean the tub after you forgot that we use the toilet for bathroom time.